Francis ditches bulletproof Popemobile, says 'at my age I don't have much to lose'

By Laura Smith-Spark, CNN

Updated 2233 GMT (0533 HKT) June 14, 2014

Pope Francis34 photos

With his penchant for crowd-pleasing and spontaneous acts of compassion, Pope Francis has earned high praise from fellow Catholics and others since he replaced Pope Benedict XVI in March 2013. Click through to see moments from his papacy.

Hide Caption

1 of 34

Pope Francis34 photos

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, meets Pope Francis at the Vatican on Wednesday, June 10. The Pope gave Putin a medallion depicting the angel of peace, Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi said. The Vatican called it "an invitation to build a world of solidarity and peace founded on justice." Lombardi said the pontiff and President talked for 50 minutes about the crisis in Ukraine and violence in Iraq and Syria.

Hide Caption

2 of 34

Pope Francis34 photos

Pope Francis talks with Cuban President Raul Castro during a private audience at the Vatican on Sunday, May 10. Castro thanked the Pope for his role in brokering the rapprochement between Havana and Washington.

Hide Caption

3 of 34

Pope Francis34 photos

Pope Francis leaves at the end of an Armenian rite Mass on Sunday, April 12.

Hide Caption

4 of 34

Pope Francis34 photos

The Pope greets the crowd from St. Peter's Basilica following Easter Mass on Sunday, April 5.

Hide Caption

5 of 34

Pope Francis34 photos

Pope Francis touches a child's face as he arrives for a meeting in the Vatican on Friday, March 6.

Hide Caption

6 of 34

Pope Francis34 photos

The Pope attends the funeral of Cardinal Karl Josef Becker on Monday, February 16.

Hide Caption

7 of 34

Pope Francis34 photos

Pope Francis hugs a child while meeting with youth at Santo Tomas University in Manila, Philippines, on Sunday, January 18.

The Pope attends Christmas Eve Mass at St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.

Hide Caption

10 of 34

Pope Francis34 photos

Pope Francis and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I address the faithful in Istanbul on Sunday, November 30.

Hide Caption

11 of 34

Pope Francis34 photos

Pope Francis speaks during the feast-day Mass while on a one-day trip to the Calabrian region of Italy in June 2014. The Pope spoke out against the Mafia's "adoration of evil and contempt for the common good," and declared that "mafiosi are excommunicated, not in communion with God."

Hide Caption

12 of 34

Pope Francis34 photos

Pope Francis prays at the Western Wall in Jerusalem in May 2014.

Hide Caption

13 of 34

Pope Francis34 photos

The Pope meets faithfuls as he visits the San Gregorio Parish in Rome in April 2014.

Hide Caption

14 of 34

Pope Francis34 photos

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, have an audience with the Pope during their one-day visit to Rome in April 2014.

Hide Caption

15 of 34

Pope Francis34 photos

Francis speaks with U.S. President Barack Obama, who visited the Vatican in March 2014.

Hide Caption

16 of 34

Pope Francis34 photos

The Pope blesses the altar at Rome's Santa Sabina church as he celebrates Mass on Ash Wednesday in March 2014.

Hide Caption

17 of 34

Pope Francis34 photos

Daniele De Sanctis, a 19-month-old child dressed up as a pope, is handed to Francis as the pontiff is driven through the crowd in St. Peter's Square in February 2014.

Hide Caption

18 of 34

Pope Francis34 photos

Wind blows the papal skullcap off Pope Francis' head in February 2014.

Hide Caption

19 of 34

Pope Francis34 photos

A lamb is placed around Francis' neck in January 2014 as he visits a living nativity scene staged at a church on the outskirts of Rome.

Hide Caption

20 of 34

Pope Francis34 photos

Pope Francis meets with Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI in the Vatican in December 2013. Benedict surprised the world by resigning "because of advanced age." It was the first time a pope has stepped down in nearly 600 years.

Hide Caption

21 of 34

Pope Francis34 photos

Pope Francis marked his 77th birthday in December 2013 by hosting homeless men to a Mass and a meal at the Vatican. One of the men brought his dog.

Hide Caption

22 of 34

Pope Francis34 photos

Pope Francis embraced Vinicio Riva, a disfigured man who suffers from a non-infectious genetic disease, during a public audience at the Vatican in November 2013. Riva then buried his head in the Pope's chest.

Hide Caption

23 of 34

Pope Francis34 photos

Pope Francis jokes in November 2013 with members of the Rainbow Association, which uses clown therapy in hospitals, nursing homes and orphanages.

Hide Caption

24 of 34

Pope Francis34 photos

A young boy hugs Francis as he delivers a speech in St. Peter's Square in October 2013. The boy, part of a group of children sitting around the stage, played around the Pope as the Pope continued his speech and occasionally patted the boy's head.

Hide Caption

25 of 34

Pope Francis34 photos

Francis has eschewed fancy cars. Here, Father Don Renzo Zocca, second from right, offers his white Renault 4L to the Pope during a meeting at the Vatican in September 2013.

Hide Caption

26 of 34

Pope Francis34 photos

Francis has his picture taken inside St. Peter's Basilica with youths who came to Rome for a pilgrimage in August 2013.

Hide Caption

27 of 34

Pope Francis34 photos

During an impromptu news conference in July 2013, while on a plane from Brazil to Rome, the Pope said about gay priests, "Who am I to judge?" Many saw the move as the opening of a more tolerant era in the Catholic Church.

Hide Caption

28 of 34

Pope Francis34 photos

Crowds swarm the Pope as he makes his way through World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro in July 2013. According to the Vatican, 1 million people turned out to see the Pope.

Hide Caption

29 of 34

Pope Francis34 photos

Francis frees a dove in May 2013 during his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square.

Hide Caption

30 of 34

Pope Francis34 photos

Francis embraces a young boy with cerebral palsy in March 2013 -- a gesture that many took as a heartwarming token of the Pope's self-stated desire to "be close to the people."

Hide Caption

31 of 34

Pope Francis34 photos

The Pope washes the feet of juvenile offenders, including Muslim women, as part of Holy Thursday rituals in March 2013. The act commemorates Jesus' washing of the Apostles' feet during the Last Supper.

Hide Caption

32 of 34

Pope Francis34 photos

Francis stands at the reception desk of the Domus Internationalis Paulus VI residence, where he paid the bill for his stay during the conclave that would elect him leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics.

Hide Caption

33 of 34

Pope Francis34 photos

Francis, formerly known as Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, was elected the Roman Catholic Church's 266th Pope in March 2013. The first pontiff from Latin America was also the first to take the name Francis.

Hide Caption

34 of 34

Story highlights

Pope Francis says the enclosed, bulletproof Popemobile walls him off from the people

"Let's face it, at my age I don't have much to lose," he tells a Spanish newspaper

Francis says Benedict's retirement was a "great gesture," does not rule out doing same

Pope Francis has told a Spanish newspaper that he prefers not to use a bulletproof Popemobile despite the dangers of an assassination attempt because it is a glass "sardine can" that walls him off from people.

"I know that something could happen to me, but it's in the hands of God."

Since an assassination attempt on then-Pope John Paul II in 1981, the head of the Roman Catholic Church has customarily used the custom-made glass-sided Popemobile when in public.

But Francis has taken his own approach to transport since assuming the papacy last year -- creating a headache for those tasked with ensuring his security.

Popemobiles through the years 20 photos

Popemobiles through the years20 photos

Popemobiles through the years – Benedict XVI disembarks the latest version of the Popemobile in St. Peter's Square on February 27, 2013, the day before he stepped down as pope.

Hide Caption

1 of 20

Popemobiles through the years20 photos

Popemobiles through the years – This version of the Popemobile was used in September 2010 during the pope's visit to London, England.

Hide Caption

2 of 20

Popemobiles through the years20 photos

Popemobiles through the years – This picture shows the way the pope enters a Popemobile. The back door is opened, revealing a small staircase to help him board smoothly.(September 17, 2010 in London, England)

Hide Caption

3 of 20

Popemobiles through the years20 photos

Popemobiles through the years – Pictured here is the detail of the Popemobile licence plate. According to the Vatican, the letters on the plate stand for 'status civitatis Vaticanae.' (September 14, 2010 in London)

Hide Caption

4 of 20

Popemobiles through the years20 photos

Popemobiles through the years – Pope Benedict XVI waves as he arrives in St. Peter's Square after leading the Te Deum prayer on December 31, 2009 in Vatican City, Vatican. The lights inside the Popemobile enable the crowds to see inside the vehicle.

Hide Caption

5 of 20

Popemobiles through the years20 photos

Popemobiles through the years – This Popemobile (photographed in September 2011) is fitted with a religious image just above the pope's seat.

Hide Caption

6 of 20

Popemobiles through the years20 photos

Popemobiles through the years – An Israeli worker drives the Popemobile during a rehearsal on May 6, 2009 at the foot of the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. Israel's internal security agency was originally opposed to the pontiff using his Popemobile while in Nazareth on a tour of the Holy Land, according to a government document presented to the weekly Cabinet meeting on April 26.

Hide Caption

7 of 20

Popemobiles through the years20 photos

Popemobiles through the years – 2003: Pope John Paul II arrives in St. Peter's Square in his custom-made Fiat Popemobile on May 18, 2003.

Hide Caption

8 of 20

Popemobiles through the years20 photos

Popemobiles through the years – Pope John Paul II salutes the crowd as he arrives for his weekly address in Vatican City on May 27, 1998.

Hide Caption

9 of 20

Popemobiles through the years20 photos

Popemobiles through the years – In this version of the Popemobile, Pope John Paul II arrives at Sarajevo stadium on April 13, 1997.

Hide Caption

10 of 20

Popemobiles through the years20 photos

Popemobiles through the years – 1982: Pope John Paul II arrives at Westminster Cathedral in London in a modified Range Rover.

Hide Caption

11 of 20

Popemobiles through the years20 photos

Popemobiles through the years – Pope John Paul II is shot by would-be assassin Mehmet Ali Agca in St. Peter's Square on May 13, 1981. Following the assassination attempt, the Popemobile was equipped with bullet-proof glass.

Hide Caption

12 of 20

Popemobiles through the years20 photos

Popemobiles through the years – 1980: Pope John Paul II waves to the crowds from his custom-built truck during a visit to his homeland Poland.

Hide Caption

13 of 20

Popemobiles through the years20 photos

Popemobiles through the years – 1966: Pope Paul VI blesses lorries from the back of a Mercedes-Benz in St. Peter's Square, Rome, before they are shipped to famine-stricken areas of India.

Hide Caption

14 of 20

Popemobiles through the years20 photos

Popemobiles through the years – 1964: During a visit to the John Bosco School in India, Pope Paul VI drives through the crowds with a convoy of bodyguards.

Hide Caption

15 of 20

Popemobiles through the years20 photos

Popemobiles through the years – October 1962: Standing in an open Mercedes, Pope John XXIII receives an enthusiastic welcome from the crowds at Loreto.

Hide Caption

16 of 20

Popemobiles through the years20 photos

Popemobiles through the years – 1929: Papal nuncio Eugenio Pacelli, later created Pope Pius XII, arrives at Freiburg in Germany, accompanied by Dr. Sester.

Hide Caption

17 of 20

Popemobiles through the years20 photos

Popemobiles through the years – Pope Pius IX, Giovanni Mastai Ferretti stands in an open salon coach at a railway station in Rome in about 1846.

Hide Caption

18 of 20

Popemobiles through the years20 photos

Popemobiles through the years – The pope is pictured being carried in the Corpus Domini procession around St. Peter's Square in about 1840.

Hide Caption

19 of 20

Popemobiles through the years20 photos

Popemobiles throughout the years – Emperor Karl V of Germany, King Charles I of Spain are pictured, circa 1550, with Pope Clement VII in Bologna.

JUST WATCHED

Pope calls for sincerity in Middle East

MUST WATCH

JUST WATCHED

Pope to couples: Have kids, not pets

MUST WATCH

Pope to couples: Have kids, not pets04:00

PLAY VIDEO

On a trip to Brazil, he climbed into a silver hatchback Fiat for the drive from the airport to downtown Rio de Janeiro. Along the route, the vehicle became pinned between a bus and a crush of well-wishers who were reaching into the car to touch the Pope. Security was stepped up after that incident.

He's also used an open-topped vehicle, rather than the enclosed, bulletproof version preferred by Benedict, for tours through crowds of the faithful in St. Peter's Square.

The Pope's recent trip to the Holy Land, during which he made stops in Jordan, the West Bank and Jerusalem, is likely to have posed additional significant security challenges.

But he sees being able to speak with and meet people directly as a key part of his pastoral role as pontiff.

Another Pope Emeritus?

In the interview with La Vanguardia, Francis also did not rule out following in the footsteps of his predecessor in the role, Benedict XVI, who stood down from the papacy citing age and frailty.

Francis described Benedict's retirement as a "great gesture" which opened the door to the creation of an institution of Pope Emeritus, as Benedict is now known, according to Vatican Radio.

"As we live longer, we get to an age at which we cannot carry on with things," Francis said. "I will do the same as he did: ask the Lord enlighten me when the moment comes and tell me what I have to do, and he will tell me for sure."

He speaks too of his commitment to interfaith relations and his hopes for Middle East peace.

Asked finally how he would like to be remembered in history, Francis said he hadn't thought about it, according to Vatican Radio.

"But," he said, "I like it when you recall someone and say, 'he was a good guy, he did what he could, and he was not that bad.' With that, I would be content."